* (If links fail, please take a look at https://kummer.pages.rwth-aachen.de/bosss-public/ and search for `*.exe` or `*.run` - files)
We briefly outline the steps required to get started with using and/or developing BoSSS applications. **In any case**, the [installation](#installation) of the pre-compiled version of BoSSS should be the first step. Upon finishing this step, you can either use [BoSSSpad](/bosss1/experimental/-/wikis/Getting-Started/BoSSSpad) to run pre-compiled applications as well as -- or -- you can start [working with the source code](/bosss1/experimental/-/wikis/Getting-Started/Working-with-BoSSS-as-a-Developer).
We briefly outline the steps required to get started with using and/or developing BoSSS applications. **In any case**, the [installation](#installation) of the pre-compiled version of BoSSS should be the first step. Upon finishing this step, you can either use [BoSSSpad](/Getting-Started/BoSSSpad) to run pre-compiled applications as well as -- or -- you can start [working with the source code](/Getting-Started/Working-with-BoSSS-as-a-Developer).
## Installation
The advantage of C#, resp. .NET is that _the executable is platform-independent_. This implies e.g. that an executable compiled on a Windows/Mac laptop can be copied to a Linux/Unix HPC system and executed there without re-compilation. As discussed in the [Core Concepts](/bosss1/experimental/-/wikis/Getting-Started/Core-concepts#c-Sharp,-.net-and-mono), this obviously requires some _middleware_ and some libraries to be present on the target computer. In the following, we will thus summarize some best practices for the installation of the [pre-compiled BoSSS binaries](#notes-on-third-party-libraries) on different operating systems.
The advantage of C#, resp. .NET is that _the executable is platform-independent_. This implies e.g. that an executable compiled on a Windows/Mac laptop can be copied to a Linux/Unix HPC system and executed there without re-compilation. As discussed in the [Core Concepts](/Getting-Started/Core-concepts#c-Sharp,-.net-and-mono), this obviously requires some _middleware_ and some libraries to be present on the target computer. In the following, we will thus summarize some best practices for the installation of the [pre-compiled BoSSS binaries](#notes-on-third-party-libraries) on different operating systems.
